Freshman Advising
The Advising System
Undergraduate Advising and Research (UAR) is dedicated to introducing you to the full intellectual richness of undergraduate study at Stanford, supporting you in your academic and intellectual pursuits, and instilling within you a deep sense of identity within and belonging to the community of scholars at Stanford.
This process begins with the paring of each freshman with two advisors: a Pre-Major Advisor and an Academic Director.
Pre-Major Advisor
Your Pre-Major Advisor is a faculty or staff member who volunteers to mentor you and a handful of other freshmen from the point of your arrival on campus until you declare your major. An attempt is made to match your interests with those of one of the Pre-Major Advisors associated with your residence. Pre-Major Advisors serve in a variety of professional roles on campus and are the first of many mentors we expect you will find at Stanford. You will meet with your Pre-Major Advisor during New Student Orientation (NSO) and at least once per quarter until you declare a major (by the end of your sophomore year), after which you will be advised by a faculty member in your chosen department.
Academic Director
Every freshman has an Academic Director (AD), a Ph.D.-level, full-time professional UAR advisor whose office is in the residential complex. ADs focus on the freshmen in their residence and the sophomores living nearby, and they assist with both routine and complex matters pertaining to academic requirements and policies, course selection, investigating majors, research, fellowships, and post-graduate study.
Your Academic Director will be available to correspond with you online or by phone from mid-August until you arrive for NSO, should you have questions. During NSO, you will attend a session presented by your Academic Director on Wednesday afternoon, and you will have additional opportunities to talk with your Academic Director in your residence on Thursday and Friday.
Varsity athletes are served by UAR advisors whose offices are located in the Athletic Academic Resources Center (AARC) located in the Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation. The Academic Advisors for Student-Athletes are uniquely qualified and trained to evaluate student-athletes’ academic eligibility requirements.
An additional set of advisors in UAR are located on the first floor of Sweet Hall. These advisors are available during daily drop-in hours or by appointment, in the event that your Pre-Major Advisor or Academic Director is unavailable or if you seek specialized advice regarding pre-professional interests (e.g., pre-law, pre-health, pre-business).
Meeting Your Freshman Advisors
Your Academic Director (or Academic Advisor for Student-Athletes) will contact you via email on Monday, August 13 to invite you to ask any questions that you might have about your academic plans prior to your arrival. Your Academic Director (or Academic Advisor for Student-Athletes) will also be available to meet with students in groups during NSO to answer questions about the classes you will take in Autumn Quarter. When you check in to your dorms on the first day of NSO, you will receive the name of your Pre-Major Advisor, her/his contact information, and the date/time/location of your individual and group advising meetings during NSO. (Some Pre-Major Advisors may hold these initial meetings during the first week of Autumn Quarter.) These initial meetings will serve to build the foundation of your advising relationship.
Expanded Advising Programs
Expanded Advising Programs (EAP) offers access to graduate and undergraduate mentors; community-themed workshops; seminars and discussions on academic opportunities like scholarships, fellowships and research; dinners with distinguished Stanford faculty; and networking with Stanford alumni. Students may elect to participate in EAP for 1 unit of credit during Autumn and/or Winter Quarters. On average, students commit two hours per week to the program. For a full description of EAP, please see Expanded Advising Programs.
To learn more about advising in the sophomore year and beyond, click here.